Physician Use of Electronic Health Records in Obesity Management

To assess Wisconsin physician knowledge, attitudes, and practices in obesity management. The Wisconsin Medical Society distributed an e-mail survey to 12,372 members with questions on obesity causes, barriers to documentation, and training in obesity management. A total of 590 surveys (4.7%) were completed. Physicians had an accurate fund of knowledge. Reasons given for failure to document obesity were lack of reimbursement, lack of effective treatment, and discomfort in discussing obesity. Only 14% of responding physicians were optimistic about their patients achieving sustained weight loss and only 7% believed they have been successful at treating obesity. Training was infrequent in obesity management. Survey respondents indicated that additional training and effective tools would help treat obesity. Strategies should be developed that improve physician effectiveness in obesity management.